A Glasgow kitten has been left blinded after being neglected by it's owner and sold online at just four weeks old.
Little Cookie has been described as the poorest wee soul by the Cats Protection Glasgow Adoption Centre after he was brought into their care.
The kitten had been bought online for £150 and handed over to a buyer who was unaware of his critical eye condition.
He was rushed to a vet after his new owners saw his condition.
Vets say the sight they were confronted with when he was brought to the centre last Thursday was 'truly heartbreaking' and say they are unsure if they will be able to save his sight.
Staff said: "It’s utterly devastating to think that human neglect could mean he never sees the world around him but we will do absolutely everything we can for him and we are keeping everything crossed that his sight can be saved."
The alarming post read: "I don’t really know where to start with this post and it’s going to be a long one but the main reason for it is to highlight the sometimes heartbreaking reality of buying a kitten online.
"Last Thursday, the poorest wee soul with the worst sore eyes I’ve seen in my nearly six years at the centre was brought in to our care and at the time of writing this post, our vets don’t know whether his eyes can be saved as we need to wait until the swelling goes down."
Cookie's new owner spent two weeks going back and forth to the vet, which cost around £200.
After being told the kitten was still very poorly they contacted the charity.
Cookie was weighing in as a two to three week old kitten but vets estimate he is probably around six weeks old now.
Vets went on to say a four week old kitten is still fully dependent their mums and are generally weaned around the six week mark. They say that time period is crucial to their development.
The post continued: "Kittens should be with their mum until they are at least eight weeks old but we see time and time again that they are being sold much younger online although being advertised as 8 weeks old.
"What I can say about Cookie is that he is a wee fighter & he is acting like any other kitten.
"With help, he is eating well, finding his way to his litter tray and using it, playing with toys we give him, grooming himself and purring like a wee machine.
"We will continue to keep you all updated with his progress so please keep our wee Cookie in your thoughts and please note that we are nowhere near looking for offers of a home for him as his recovery with us will unfortunately be a long one."
